Although contemporary pens make efficient writing instruments, they have the drawback that they provide a relatively small writing range. The ball point pen, for example, is much too rigid to accomodate the writing style of persons who prefer a pen which is flexible and spreads under writing pressure in order to provide variation in the width of the written line, thus personalizing the style of the writing. Some pens currently in use have tips made of felt or other fibrous material to provide such flexibility. However, these tips tend to deteriorate rapidly due to the low abrasion resistance of these materials. It is also disconcerting to find that the new pens generally lack the aesthetic writing qualities of the earlier pen forms.
While the traditional flexible point provides a fairly extensive writing range, it is frequently found objectionable for reasons largely relating to its ink feeding slit. These pen points have two opposed nibs which define a slit or juncture therebetween to serve as a channel for ink. When this pen is subjected to writing pressure, the nibs separate at their tips, reducing thereby the capillary potential where it is most needed. Consequently, ink withdraws from the tip of the pen and causes it to write scratchy lines. Moreover, excessive spreading of the nibs makes the maintenance of wetness therebetween for instantaneous writing more difficult and sometimes renders the feed channel inoperative by causing permanent nib deformation or breakage. Another disadvantage of this pen which militates against its use is its sharply-pointed nibs which have a strong tendency to scratch and penetrate the paper surface on the upstroke of the pen.
In another type of pen point, previously disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,776, the above-mentioned drawbacks are eliminated by arranging the nibs so that their tips become progressively more contiguous instead of more divergent with the application of writing pressure thereon.